Extending their piping hot streak long into 2018, The Hollywood Reporter has today revealed Mark Rylance is set to make it three for three with Steven Spielberg collaborations, after enlisting for the director’s long-anticipated adaptation of Ready Player One.
It follows the pair’s work across Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies and, soon, The BFG, meaning that after Rylance and Spielberg whisk moviegoers off to the mystical plains of Giant Country, they’ll be plotting course for the OASIS.
Lifted from Ernest Cline’s celebrated sci-fi novel, Ready Player One largely takes place in the virtual world of OASIS – a timely topic, given the advent of Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and more – one created and governed by the deeply enigmatic James Donovan Halliday. THR confirms that Rylance will take point as Halliday, a troubled visionary that can be likened to Howard Hughes and Steve Jobs.
In fact, late last month we learned that Spielberg had settled on Simon Pegg for the role of Ogden “Og” Morrow – the Wozniak to Donovan’s Jobs – with Tye Sheridan (Wade Owen Watts/Wade3), Olivia Cooke (Samantha Evelyn Cook/Art3mis) and Ben Mendelsohn rounding out the preliminary cast list. Donald De Line, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Dan Farah will produce Warner’s tentpole release.
A meandering production timeline may have threatened to place Ready Player One on the back-burner at one stage, but with a stellar cast now in tow, Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow have set Spielberg’s adaptation for release on March 30, 2018.